Page 16 - ABILITY Magazine - Avril Lavigne Issue

Knowing the importance of a good prosthetic, Hou Bin launched his “Stand Up Again” project
16 ABILITY
rescue vehicles, who turned on their headlights, to salute the determined athlete.
Hou Bin has never denied that he needs attention, which is one way he fights the fear he’s lived with for three decades as a person with a disability. He often has flash- backs to the day after his accident. He remembers look- ing up into the faces of the people surrounding him. Their expressions, he recalls, seemed to say, “This child is ruined.”
Stand Up Again
Today, Hou Bin focuses exclusively on two things: giv- ing speeches and doing charity work, both of which he enjoys. He gives nearly 200 speeches a year. Half are for paid events and the other half are for charity.
In 2013, Hou Bin launched “Stand Up Again,” a project designed to raise money for children who were hurt dur- ing the Yan and Wenchuan earthquakes and who needed prosthetics. This has been a wish of his for many years. He remembered himself as a child falling a lot on cold snow winter days because his first prosthetic leg wasn’t
good. But when he received his new prosthetic in1996 from an overseas Chinese sponsor, he got what he calls a “good leg” and could actually stand up for the first time. So he decided then that someday he would help the less fortunate.
He feels strongly that people with disabilities need much more support in China. He has a friend, a professional French tennis player with one-leg, who has won many advertising endorsements, yet Hou Bin hasn’t won any, even though he’s a champion. He’s auditioned for many endorsements but is consistently refused, which is often the case for Chinese athletes with disabilities. People with disabilities in China complain about social injustices, and Hou Bin agrees these injustices exist, but he also believes they are still capable of accomplishing great achieve- ments. As he often says, “Never underestimate yourself, for everyone has unlimited potential.”
by staff reporter Huan Fei
This story is part of a series of articles published as an exclusive editorial exchange between China Press For People with Disabilities & Spring Breeze and ABILITY Magazine. Photography by Lulu Liao.